New Interim Rule Cracks Down on Immigration

On Monday, the Trump administration announced a new interim rule that requires asylum-seekers coming from Central America to seek asylum in countries traversed en route to the United States’ southern border. If migrants fail to file for protection in a third country, meaning a country other than the United States or the immigrants’ country of residence, they will not be granted asylum upon reaching the U.S. border.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are revising the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to include a permanent version of the interim rule under which all migrants will be legally obligated to abide by.

The 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Refugee Protocol have already established international law regarding the classification and protection of asylum-seekers. Under the Protocol, there is no requirement for refugees to seek protection in the first country they reach. However, specific criteria must be met to achieve refugee status. President Trump holds that the migrants showing up at the U.S. border are not true refugees, but rather economic migrants.

President Trump is working with Guatemala and Mexico to establish a ‘Safe Third Country’ agreement that would send migrants who passed through these countries back to them upon reaching the U.S. However, Guatemala and Mexico have resisted the proposed agreement.

There are exceptions to the rule for those in dire need of refuge. Victims of human trafficking may apply for U.S. asylum regardless of whether they had previously filed for protection in another country. Also, immigrants who were denied protection in other countries will remain eligible for U.S. asylum. However, it is the immigrant’s responsibility to obtain evidence of a denied claim for protection.

The rule is designed to “reduce the overwhelming burdens on our domestic system caused by asylum-seekers failing to seek urgent protection in the first available country, economic migrants lacking a legitimate fear of persecution, and the transnational criminal organizations, traffickers, and smugglers exploiting our system for profits,” says Kevin McAleenan, Secretary of Homeland Security. Additionally, “By deterring meritless asylum claims and de-prioritizing the applications of individuals who could have sought protection in another country before reaching the United States, the Departments seek to ensure that those asylees who need relief most urgently are better able to obtain it,” according to the Federal Register.

In May, 144,278 people were apprehended at the border. It was the highest number of border apprehensions in a given month and a dramatic increase from 51,862 apprehensions in May 2018. In Fiscal Year 2018, there were 521,090 total apprehensions. So far, in Fiscal Year 2019, not including July, there have been 780,638.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border have caused a humanitarian crisis, as limited resources cannot satisfy the influx of demand. Overcrowding of Border Patrol detention facilities is a major issue, resulting in poor sanitation and living conditions for migrants. Many facilities are operating at well over capacity. Migrant children, in particular, are creating problems for Customs and Border Patrol. Legally, any migrant under the age of 18 should be placed under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within three days of arriving at a Border Patrol station. However, the ORR cannot accept children at the rapid rate at which they are flooding in. With nowhere to send the kids after their three-day detention period at Border Patrol stations, some children end up remaining at the detention facilities for weeks.

Attempts to address immigrant overflow have been and continue to be made. Late last month, Congress passed a bill that will send $4.6 billion to the southern border to aid in the humanitarian crisis. Additionally, President Trump called for raids to apprehend undocumented immigrants. The raids, led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will target roughly 2,000 of the approximated one million immigrants with court-ordered removals. The raids are intended to “take out criminals, put them in prison, or put them in prison in the countries they came from,” President Trump commented.

However, actions taken by the Trump administration are not enough to fix the current humanitarian crisis at the border and the ongoing influx of immigration. With the revision of the INA, there is hope for further progress. “Until Congress can act, this interim rule will help reduce a major ‘pull’ factor driving irregular migration to the United States,” said McAleenan.